Lucky Charmed
by Sailordraco82520
Summary: In the aftermath of their summer break up Finn and Kurt deal with their feelings. But when Finn makes a new friend, Kurt gets jealous over what that might mean. But both boys have to work out their differences first. Eventual Kinn again. Story #7
1. Chapter 1 The New Kid

**AN: Hi all! This is a small filler story in between Backstreet Gaga, and what I have tentatively entitled Something to be Proud of, though that title could change, but at any rate this little story is an AU version of "Pot o' Gold," and part of "The First Time." The beginning of this story is going to be similar to what was in "Pot o' Gold," but different.**

**So for notes: **

**Finn and Kurt are still apart; see Backstreet Gaga for that story if you're interested.**

**Blaine and Rachel's storyline is altered due to me having Finn and Kurt together in the past/future stories; HOWEVER, warning there is slight Klaine in this story. This story is going to be a buildup to Finn and Kurt getting back together, I haven't decided if they will in this story or the next.**

**For all intents and purposes let's just say that all the other character storylines are for the most part the same as in the show, exceptions will be: Finn, Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, and Rory.**

**As for the Trouble Tone Rebellion, I am just going to just make a small reference to it, but I am not going to include it in the story, but just so ya know it still happens.**

**I love Rory, and I heard they are planning on giving him a girlfriend for Valentines, but for this AU storyline, Rory is going to be bi.**

**In all things Glee they really don't give you an idea as to what time of the year it is, unless it is holiday oriented. I guess you could say that when the episode airs it would be that time of year. But be that as it may when "Pot o' Gold" aired it was November, & I find that a little weird for a foreign exchange student to finally get to school in November. So for the storyline Rory's been there since the start of school, and this AU version of "Pot o' Gold" is set late September, and the AU version part that I am going to include of "The First Time" will be set in early October. **

**Umm…I think that's it, I think I got all the mistakes, but no promises. Also read and review please, I am always interested in what people think. Now on with the short story!~Draco.**

Lucky Charmed

Chapter 1

The New Kid

-Finn-

Finn sighed as he grabbed his books out of his locker as he sorted them for what he would need to take home for homework. Finn still felt horrible from the summer, even though it was only two and a half months ago. Where it just seemed he lost everything that he cared about: Kurt, and losing Sam as a friend. Finn had told Puck what had happened between him and Kurt, and Puck made the comment that Kurt was being stupidly selfish and an idiot.

To make things even more annoying for Finn, Blaine had transferred to McKinley and according to Blaine it was due to some new Warbler named Sebastian. At the start of September it seemed that Kurt and Blaine were getting closer, and when Finn asked Kurt about it, Kurt got snippy and said that they were just friends. But all of the evidence seemed to point the other way in Finn's mind at any rate. With a combination of Mr. Schue and Rachel being nothing but perfect, they both ended up pissing Mercedes off and she quit New Directions to go and join Ms. Cochrane's group. Then Coach Sylvester started bashing his mom and Burt over the run for a political office, and Finn went down to confront her on it, It ended with Coach Sylvester grilling him with none other than her famous insults that she's known for.

Finn closed his locker and decided that he needed some comfort food before he went home since they didn't have glee that night due to Mr. Schue having a dental appointment. Finn slipped his backpack over one shoulder, as he walked down the hall staring mostly at the floor. Finn glanced up, when he heard Kurt laugh, and frowned when he saw that Kurt was with Blaine. They hadn't seen him yet so Finn ducked into a nearby classroom, oblivious to the fact that someone was in there.

Finn walked into the room just past the teacher's desk, and let out a breath of air. Finn then heard a chair move and Finn glanced over to see a kid he had never seen before who seemed to have a thing for wearing green. It also looked like the table was covered in cereal. Finn could have sworn that the kid had wide eyes as if he just saw something wondrous for the first time. "Oh my, it's Finn Hudson."

Finn blinked. "You know who, I am?"

The kid smiled a little bit more. "I've seen you on You Tube, losing glee club Nationals after tongue-kissing your girlfriend for ten minutes."

Finn felt awkward. "Uh…thanks."

If it all possible that smile got even bigger on the kids face. "I'm a big, big fan."

"At ease," Finn said as he moved over to stand next to the kid, and they both sat down, and Finn dropped his bag on the floor. "Not to sound rude, but who are you?"

The kid continued to smile. "My name is Rory Flanagan; I'm a foreign exchange student from Ireland. I love everything about America, especially NASCAR, your half-black president and Victoria's Secret catalogs."

Finn nodded that he understood. "Ya, that's cool."

Rory continued to smile at Finn as he continued to talk. "I'm staying at the home of Brittany S. Pierce. She thinks that I am a Leprechaun.""

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Yeah she's kind of like _Rain Man_ with boobs."

Rory glanced down at the table. "Brittany said that she would let me into her Pot o' Gold, if I granted her three wishes. So I am pretending to be a Leprechaun. Her first wish was for an all-marshmallow box of _Lucky Charms_."

Finn smiled at that. "Yeah that definitely sounds like Brittany."

Rory just seemed to be pleased that someone was talking to him, because he just kept smiling at Finn. "I really want to snog her. I'm still a virgin."

_Boy talk about sensory overload. _Finn thought. "Oh well that's cool, and good luck with that. But something you should know, Rachel was the one that cost us Nationals, she kissed me. I had a boyfriend at the time."

Finn saw Rory's eyebrows rise up in surprise at Finn's statement. "You're gay?"

Finn smiled and shook his head. "I'm bi, actually."

Rory blinked a couple times. "I didn't think that there were gay people in America?"

Finn laughed. "Well there are a lot here in America, but there aren't many here in Lima."

Rory looked down at the table. "Oh, how many are there in Lima?"

Finn stopped and thought about it for a minute. "Not many that I know of that are out of the closet. There is Rachel's two dads, Dave Karofsky, but he transferred. My friend Josh is bi, but he's off to college this year." Finn paused for second to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. "Here at school, Kurt and Blaine are gay, and that's all I can think of at the moment."

Rory nodded. "Would you like to be my friend, Finn? I don't have any here other than Brittany."

Finn thought about it for a minute. "Sure, why not."

Rory got a confused look. "Would there be a problem with that?"

Finn became confused at Rory's question. "What?"

Rory continued to look confused. "You said: 'sure, why not,' is there a problem with me?"

Finn smiled and shook his head. "No, there's not a problem. It's just an expression that means: yes, I'd like to be your friend."

With that Rory's face broke out into another one of his 'wonderstruck' smiles. "Oh thank you, Finn!"

Rory glanced back down at the table and seemed to resume his hunt for marshmallows at a renewed pace. Finn sat there for a minute and watched as he listened to Rory hum a tune that he wasn't familiar with. As Rory continued to peruse for the charms, Finn started to feel like a creeper. "So do you have any interests?"

Rory looked up as he dumped some marshmallows into the box to his left. "You mean other than NASCAR, your president and Victoria's Secret?"

Finn nodded, Rory reached up and scratched the side of his head. "I find your American football interesting, girls mostly…" Rory trailed off and that made Finn raise an eyebrow.

Rory cleared his throat after that. "I kind of like video games too."

Finn continued to have his eyebrow raised. "Do you like music? I heard you humming there for a minute."

At that Rory's cheeks heated up. "I do like music. I sing at Mass, but I'm not really comfortable singing in front of people."

Finn gave Rory a friendly smile. "If you were in a group would you?"

Rory was quiet again as he thought about that. "I think I could handle that."

_SCORE!_ Finn thought. "Would you like to join New Directions?"

Rory blinked at that. "I never really thought about it."

Finn looked at the clock and saw that it was getting late. "Tell you what, you can think about it. And as a treat as my new friend, let me buy you something to eat, because I am getting hungry."

Rory smiled at that. "Ok, cool."

With that Rory cleaned off the table real quick of his cereal mess and then gathered his stuff up and he followed Finn out of the classroom to the parking lot and over to Finn's truck. Once in the truck and on the road, another question hit Finn. "What was that song you were humming earlier?"

Rory thought for second. "It's a song called _A Place in the Choir,_ by a group called Celtic Thunder. My mum says that I look a lot like their youngest member Damien. She's told me many a time that Damien could be my twin since we both look a lot alike."

Finn smiled at the thought of there being another Rory out there. "Is it a good song?"

Rory shrugged his shoulders. "It's one of my favorites. I used to listen to it a lot when I was younger."

Finn pulled up into a McDonald's drive through behind someone. "What would you like?"

Rory glanced over at the menu was and tried to decide. "I'll just get what you're having."

So Finn ordered the 50 chicken nugget meal and then he split it with Rory. Finn ended up eating more than he bargained for because Rory only ate 15 nuggets and his large fries. After that Finn dropped Rory off at Brittany's house and went home, and Finn found himself feeling for the first time since July, a little bit more like himself.

-Carole-

Carole straightened up from putting a homemade chicken and dumpling in the oven so that it could be ready for dinner on time. She glanced over and saw Kurt at the table working on his Calculus homework, when the back door opened and Finn came in humming. Carole smiled because Finn looked a little better than he had been lately and she was glad of the small change, for the mood in the house had been rather depressing the last two months.

Finn went to the fridge and pulled out a Gatorade. It was then that Carole recognized the tune to _Jessie's Girl_; it was one of the few songs that Finn hummed when he was in a good mood that didn't fall into the Journey category. "Finn, you seem to be in a good mood."

Finn smiled at his mom. "Just made a new friend is all."

Carole noticed Kurt look up from his homework. Carole returned Finn's smile. "Well that's good. They seemed to have cheered you up a little."

Finn's smile fell, and looked as if he felt Kurt's eyes boring into the back of his head. "He did, he made me smile, and he asked about that whole thing with Rachel at Nationals last year and I set the record on that for him and he was okay with who I was."

Carole continued to smile for Finn's sake. "Well I can't wait to meet him if you ever bring him over."

Finn nodded. "Well I better go get started on my English essay."

With that Finn hurried out of the kitchen and Carole heard Finn's signature thumps as he hurried up the stairs to his room. Carole then turned to get dishes out of the cupboards so that they'd be ready to go on the table when dinner was ready. Kurt then spoke up from the table. "You could have asked what this guy's name was."

Carole sighed. "Kurt, you made your decision back in July as to where you and Finn stand. Your father and I agreed that we'd support the two of you in what you guys decided, but you can't keep getting pissed with each other every time one of you turns around."

Kurt set his pencil down. "I didn't mean it like that, I was just saying that you could have asked what the guy's name was just so I could know if I knew them or not. That's all I meant."

Carole put forks on the stack of plates and stared at Kurt for a minute. "You don't think that I don't know what game you're playing. You broke up with him, but you'll be damned if Finn sees someone else."

Kurt didn't reply and just folded his arms. Carole sighed and then walked over to the table and sat across from Kurt. "Look, Kurt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get snappy with you. It's just that both you and Finn have practically become strangers to each other. You two hardly talk to each other here at the house anymore, except to exchange pleasantries at the table. Kurt, I understand that you're hurt from what Finn did this summer, but you also know why, and that Finn beats himself up constantly over it still."

Kurt glanced at Carole. "I don't know why he would."

Carole took in a deep breath to calm herself. "I've walked by Finn's room in the middle of the night to find him crying because of everything that happened. And I am not afraid to tell you this Kurt, but I honestly feel that you are being stupidly selfish over the whole thing. But I've now said my peace, now you can do whatever you want to do with it. But if Finn has finally moved on, then you need to respect that, like he does with you and Blaine."

Kurt gave Carole an appalled look as she stood up from the table. "I am NOT dating Blaine."

Carole shrugged her shoulders. "Well with the way you two act around each other, it's really hard not to come to that conclusion."

With that Carole turned and walked out of the dining room. Kurt sat in his seat with his mouth hanging open from the shock of Carole's comment.

-Kurt-

The next morning when Kurt got to school, he had made the decision to talk to Finn and made a bee line straight for Finn's locker. When Kurt got there Finn had just closed his locker, and turned and paused when Kurt stepped in front of him. Kurt put a smile on said. "Well good morning, Finn."

Finn looked around like he expected an ambush before he looked back at Kurt. "Um…hi, Kurt, did you need something?"

Kurt shook his head. "No, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Finn frowned at that. "You're up to something, so spill it."

Kurt gave an annoyed sigh. "Finn, Carole and I talked last night and she brought up the fact you and I haven't really talked since this summer, and quite frankly she's right. I've missed talking to you."

Finn blinked at Kurt a couple of times, before he sighed. "Look Kurt, I can't do this right now. I'm running late to talk to Ms. Pillsbury. Can we talk later?"

Kurt felt a little put out but nodded. "Alright, how about we talk at lunch?"

Finn glanced around and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, we'll see."

With that Finn hurried off as if Kurt had just burst into flames. _There's something going on with him_.

Kurt's thoughts were then interrupted by someone touching his arm, and Kurt found himself looking at Blaine. "Kurt, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Kurt replied simply. "Why?"

Blaine gave Kurt a puzzled look before he spoke. "It's just that I said your name like three times before I touched your arm."

Kurt blinked at that, he didn't think he spaced out. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

Blaine gave Kurt a small smile as they started walking down the hall. "That could be dangerous."

Kurt rolled his eye. "Oh shut up, Blaine. No, it's just that Finn was in a good mood last night because he met some new guy, and Carole said that I was being stupidly selfish where it concerns Finn. So I just tried to talk to him, and it just seemed like he couldn't wait to get rid of me."

Blaine nodded. "I kind of think Carole was right."

Kurt glared at Blaine. Blaine threw his hands up. "Look, have you tried to talk to Finn since you two broke up?"

Kurt shook his head no, and Blaine then continued. "I think, Finn's just not sure how to handle you right now, because it is obvious that he still wants you. On top of that I don't think he wants to get his hopes up where you're concerned."

Kurt sighed as they stopped at his locker. "I was just trying to be nice, and find out who his new friend is. There's no harm in that is there?"

Blaine gave Kurt a look that seemed to be along the lines of 'you got to be kidding me.' "Kurt, maybe you should leave it alone."

Kurt pulled out his French book, before he turned to look at Blaine and spoke. "It's not a big deal. I just want to know if I know the guy. That's all I swear, god I am starting to sound like a parrot I had this conversation with Carole last night."

Blaine shook his head as Kurt turned back to his locker. "If I didn't know any better, Kurt I'd say that you might be jealous if Finn's found someone that makes him happy that's not you."

Kurt's head snapped to look at Blaine that his neck hurt. "I am not!"

Blaine rolled his eyes, and pushed away from the lockers. "Whatever Kurt, you keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night."

Before Kurt could finish with his locker, Blaine had disappeared around the corner. Kurt slammed his locker shut and hurried to catch up with Blaine, but he ended up running into Mercedes. "Hey Cede, how are you doing?"

Mercedes smiled at Kurt. "I'm good, and I'm finally glad to be out from underneath Rachel's enormous ego."

Kurt had to smile at that. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Mercedes smiled. "Anything, you know that."

Kurt nodded. "Well this one is a touchy subject, because it involves Finn."

"Ah," Mercedes said. "Ok, so what do you want to know about white boy?"

Kurt swallowed hard as he thought carefully of how to phrase this. "Have you seen him hanging out with anyone lately? He came home in a good mood last night and said that he met a guy who accepted him for being bi and you and I both know how hard that is in this town and I'm just a little worried about him getting hurt."

Mercedes shook her head. "No, I honestly haven't. But Finn's a big boy, he can handle himself. Do you want me to keep an eye out?"

Kurt smiled. "Please, I know that he can take care of himself, but I just don't want to see him get hurt."

Mercedes nodded. "Ok, I'll keep an eye out for you, and let you know if I hear or see anything."

Kurt stopped and gave Mercedes a hug. "Thanks, you're the best."

Mercedes smiled. "And don't forget fabulous."

Kurt laughed. "There is that, too."

With that Kurt and Mercedes parted ways to go to their morning classes.

-Mercedes-

Mercedes walked to her Folklore and Mythology class, that she shared with Finn, who happened to be the only other person from New Directions in there. Upon walking into the room she saw Finn sitting in a different spot than he usually did, and was talking to another guy that she only noticed a few times before since school started. She looked carefully at the guy and noticed that he was wearing green.

Mercedes took her seat and dug out her book and binder and a big purple pen with a fuzzy top on it. Not a moment later the bell rang and their teacher, Mr. Bolton, came into the room. "All right kids, let's get started this morning. You all should have read the chapter on the _Iliad_ that I gave you as reading assignment yesterday, because you are all going to be taking a quiz today on it."

Mercedes sat there and listened to the room moan and groan about the quiz as Mr. Bolton distributed said quiz. Once Mercedes had hers she started on it and finished quickly. Once she was done, she walked up and handed it to the teacher and returned to her seat and waited until the rest of the class finished.

A few minutes later when the last few quizzes were collected, Mr. Bolton stood up at the front of the room and cleared his throat. "Today, I have work packet for you. I am going to have you work in groups of threes and all three of you will put your names on the packet, and I want to see all three of your hand writing on this packet for all three of you will receive a group grade. This is going to cover the next two sections of the _Iliad_ that we're going to cover. Now any questions?"

Mercedes saw a guy next to her raise his hand. Mr. Bolton turned to him. "Yes, Casey?"

The guy put his hand down then asked. "Do we get to pick out partners?"

Mr. Bolton smiled. "Sadly you do not, I have already picked your partners so, with that when I call your names go ahead and get into your groups. Once you are all settled I will give your group your packet and then you can all start. So for group one: Casey, Taylor, and Amanda. Group two: Finn, Mercedes, and Rory."

With that Mercedes grabbed her things and moved over to sit with Finn, who was in the middle of dragging an extra desk and turning it to where all three desks faced each other. Mercedes noted that the kid in green didn't move and continued to sit there. Mercedes sat down and smiled at the boys. "Hi, Finn, and hello, I'm Mercedes."

Rory smiled. "I'm Rory Flanagan; I'm a foreign exchange student from Ireland. It's nice to meet you."

"Well it's nice to meet you Rory." Mercedes said. "So who are you staying with for your host family?"

Rory smiled sheepishly. "I am staying with Brittany S. Pierce."

Mercedes smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you came to school here."

"Thanks," Rory said, as he glanced at Finn. Finn just smiled at Rory, and Mercedes found that a little weird, but brushed it off as Mr. Bolton dropped a packet on Rory's desk, and then the three of them set to work.

All through class, Mercedes felt like something was off as she worked with Finn and Rory. Mercedes noticed that the two of them seemed to smile a little more than usual, and Finn kept making little joke answers to the questions in the packet and Rory would quietly laugh at them. Once the bell rang the three of them gathered up their stuff and as Rory left, Mercedes held Finn back a moment. "Ok white boy, spill."

Finn looked down at Mercedes. "Spill what?"

Mercedes raised an eyebrow at Finn as they walked out of the classroom together. "What's going on with you and the Irish kid?"

Finn's cheeks heated up, and he looked away. "Nothing, he's just a friend. I talked to him yesterday for a bit and he told me that other than Brittany he didn't have any friends, so I said that I'd be his friend."

Mercedes felt like she just had a big pile of crap land on her bull shit meter. "You like him! You actually like him!"

Finn looked around like someone who was running for their lives. "Will you be quiet? And no I don't like Rory like that!"

Mercedes chuckled. "Yes you do, you're getting all embarrassed."

Finn shook his head. "Even if I was, it wouldn't happen anyway."

They continued down the hall, when Mercedes spoke. "And why would that be?"

Finn stepped in front of Mercedes and looked her in the eye as he leaned down to talk quieter to her. "Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm still not over Kurt! Why can't any of you just leave me alone? First Rachel, then Quinn, and now you, just please understand this. I love Kurt, and I always will, but he seems to be perfectly happy with Blaine. I don't even know if Rory likes guys like that and let alone me."

Mercedes was seldom intimidated by Finn, but she did at this moment. Finn straightened up and then sighed and then looked at Mercedes. "I'm sorry, Mercedes. I didn't mean to get short with you. I'm just really confused right now, and I don't have anyone really I can talk to since Josh graduated."

Mercedes felt her heart go out to Finn. "Do you want to talk about it? Look if it will make you feel better I promise that I won't say anything about Rory to Kurt."

Finn shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Kurt's moved on and I just need to get that through my head and move on myself."

With that Finn, turned and moved on down the hall to his next class leaving Mercedes stuck to the spot where Finn had left her.

-Kurt-

Kurt had saved Finn a spot at the lunch table, but Finn never showed up. So Kurt was practically fidgety as he waited for Mercedes to come in for their free period in which they usually met in the library to work on their homework from that morning so they wouldn't have as much homework when they went home.

Five minutes later Mercedes sat down opposite of Kurt as she pulled out her science homework. Kurt cleared his throat. "So did you find anything out about Finn?"

Mercedes gave Kurt a look before she sighed. "Yeah, I talked to him in Folklore and Mythology this morning for a minute."

"And, what did you find out?" Kurt pressed. He knew that he was pressing his luck if Mercedes was irritated.

"Other than him still being majorly not over you, there's not much to say." Mercedes said as she flipped through her text book to the spot she needed.

Kurt frowned at Mercedes comment. "Did you ask him about that guy?"

Mercedes looked up from what she was reading and glared. "No, I didn't. Finn just seemed to shut down on me when I brought it up because I guess you have a big part in what he's feeling, so I decided not push my luck with him."

Kurt sighed. He had hoped that Mercedes would have come up with something. "Well thanks for trying at any rate."

Mercedes didn't bother to look up from what she was copying from her text book as she nodded and muttered. "No problem."

Kurt went back to work on his homework until his free period was over and then he and Mercedes parted ways as Kurt made his way to choir room for practice. Kurt was never so bored in practice in his life, and he felt nauseated as he listened to Finn and Rachel argue about getting back together quietly behind him.

When they were dismissed Finn bolted out of the room and was the first one gone. Kurt frowned at that and decided to hurry up and catch Finn. About a minute later Kurt was just around the corner from Finn's locker when heard Finn talking to someone. Finn's voice sounded like it was in disbelief. "Brittany said that she wanted what?"

Another voice with a heavy accent then spoke. "She said that for her second wish that she wanted her cat Lord Tubbington to poop candy bars."

Kurt peeked around the corner to see who Finn was talking to and saw some kid wearing green. Kurt then ducked back around the corner, and he thought about the kid that was wearing the green, but he couldn't place a name, let alone remember ever seeing him before. Kurt whipped his phone out and texted Brittany, for she was the only one that he knew that had a cat named Lord Tubbington. And Kurt had to admit that the name fit that cat, because it was huge.

_**Britt, who do you have staying with you that wears green?**_

_**Dance in the Dark**_

A moment later Brittany texted back and Kurt flipped his phone open.

_**How do u kno about Rory Leprechaun?**_

_**I love Dolphins!**_

Kurt didn't bother to reply since he had a name. Kurt turned to peek around the corner Finn and the kid that he was going to assume was Rory Leprechaun, were both gone. Kurt then moved to go look around but he didn't see them. So Kurt gave a defeated sigh and left the school and went home.

When Kurt had gotten home he was a little hungry and settled on making a quick sandwich. Kurt had barely finished cutting his sandwich in half, when Finn came in through the back door and set his backpack down and once again he was humming _Jessie's Girl._ So Kurt decided that the Rory Leprechaun was indeed who Finn was talking about last night. "Hey Finn, I didn't see you at lunch."

Kurt noticed that Finn froze he apparently hadn't seen Kurt when he came in. Finn turned around to look at Kurt. "I had to do something."

Kurt shrugged. "That's okay."

At that moment Carole came into the kitchen with an arm load of groceries. So Kurt decided to change tactics as he picked part of his sandwich up. "I was talking to Brittany earlier during home room, and she said that she had someone staying with her."

Finn's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kurt. "That's cool. I haven't really talked to Brittany in a while."

Kurt gave an 'oh really' face. "Well any way she told me that this guy that's staying with her, she said his name was Rory, wouldn't stop talking about you last night. So I was just wondering if Rory was your new friend that you made last night."

Carole cleared her throat. "Finn, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Kurt it's none of your business."

Finn looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. So Kurt gave Finn a questioning look. And that was all it took for Finn to get angry. "Fuck, Kurt."

"Hey! You watch your mouth, Finn!" Carole said loudly.

"Sorry mom." Finn said as he picked up his backpack. "I don't know why you care Kurt, you've moved on with Blaine, so why are you sticking your nose into my business? As far as I am concerned you don't get to know what's going on in my life since we broke up. So why do you care if I made friends with Rory or not. He's here all the way from Ireland, and the only friend that he's had here since he got here was Brittany. So sorry if I rained all over your parade if you were expecting something else."

With that Finn left the kitchen and Carole then turned on Kurt. "You had to push it, didn't you, Kurt?"

Kurt gave Carole a shocked look. "Push what? You said last night that he and I didn't talk much, I was just trying to rectify that."

Carole let out a loud and very annoyed sigh as she looked at Kurt. "I told you to drop this last night, Kurt. So let me just repeat myself. If Finn's trying to move on with someone else, then you need to respect his privacy and stay out of it."

Kurt blinked for he felt as if he had just been slapped. Carole finished putting the groceries away and went to leave the kitchen. Before she left, Carole turned back to look at Kurt. "And another thing, you might want to get off your high horse, and stop being stupidly selfish before you really hurt Finn more than you already have."

With that said Carole turned and left the kitchen and Kurt turned around and put his sandwich half back on the plate. Kurt tried to keep the tears back that were threatening to fall. But Kurt knew that Carole was right, he needed to stop being selfish and honestly do his best to repair at the very least his friendship with Finn, before it really became too late.


	2. Chapter 2 Starting to Mend the Fence

**AN: So after a long and lengthy debate with myself, here is what I had decided on for this story: There will be a slight Rinn/Fory romance storyline, but it is a buildup to Finn and Kurt getting back together at the end of the story. So yes tiny spoiler, but I hope that you will bear with me on the journey to that reunion. :o) Also in "Pot o' Gold" the whole Brittany/Finn argument had me feeling that Finn's shortness with Brittany seemed a little out of character, since I remember from somewhere it being said that they were friends for a long time, so I modified that little detail, and in my little story Mercedes doesn't talk to Santana to switch sides, and Santana does it in spite/same reason Mercedes left. So I hope that clears any questions if there is/was some confusion. Please Review! ~ Draco **

Chapter 2

Starting to Mend the Fence

-Finn-

Finn couldn't sleep. It was as if his mind had decided to torture him that night. It had only been three days since Finn had met Rory officially, and it was apparent to him after Mercedes had brought it up that he found himself attracted to the Irish kid, since Kurt was off limits. Finn found Rory's personality enduring and Rory's ideas of all the different aspects about life in America that he's finding out are not as true as he believed to be funny and rather cute about him.

Plus add in Rory's blue eyes, his thick Irish accent, and that gorgeous smile and Finn found himself in trouble. Finn kept considering on talking to Mercedes about it since she offered, but he wasn't sure if she would keep it to herself, and not only tell Kurt, but everyone else since she was one of the top gossip hounds in the school. Finn also felt that Mercedes might have tipped Kurt off about Rory, when they were partnered in class on Tuesday morning, but he wasn't 100 percent sure on that either.

After falling asleep around 3:30 that morning Finn was dead tired when he woke up three hours later. Finn ignored both Burt's and Carole's outrage, when they walked into the kitchen to find that Finn had drank eight cups of coffee from their coffee pot. Finn fired off a text to his cousin Drew, and he went out the back door just as he heard Kurt coming down the stairs. Finn then drove over to his cousin's house.

Finn had barely pulled up when Drew came down the front sidewalk and opened the passenger side door to Finn's truck. "Good morning, cuz; might I ask why you're picking me up?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "Does Aaron need a ride?"

Drew shook his head. "No, he's home sick for a couple days. Apparently he got sent home yesterday during homeroom, and dad took him to the doctor and come to find out my little bro has come down with a lovely case of the Chicken Pox. Thankfully I had them as a kid. But you didn't answer my question."

Finn blinked, as he put the truck into gear. "Sorry to hear about Aaron, as for picking you up I just needed someone to talk to."

Drew raised an eyebrow. "Alright, why do I have a feeling that I am going to be uncomfortable with this?"

Finn sighed. "Josh isn't here anymore since he's off to college in Florida. I would go to Sam, but he moved. I would talk to Mercedes about it, but I don't know if I can trust her not to tell Kurt about it. I don't like Blaine, and you know why I can't bring myself to talk to Kurt about this."

Drew was quiet for a minute before he too sighed. "Ok I understand four out of the five that you listed in there. But I'm sure that if you asked Mercedes to not say anything I am sure that she won't."

Finn was quiet for a few blocks before he spoke. "I just…never mind."

Drew cleared his throat. "Okay, if you promise not to make this a complete chick conversation, I'll listen to you."

Finn glanced over at Drew and shook his head. "That might be a little hard to do."

Drew banged his head against the back of the cab twice. "Ok, fine. I'll listen and try to offer you advice."

Finn gave a half smile. "Thanks. Do you know who Rory Flanagan is?"

Drew seemed to think for a minute before he spoke. "Name isn't really ringing a bell, but continue with your story."

Finn stopped at light that was red. "He's a foreign exchange student from Ireland."

"Oh!" Drew exclaimed. "You mean Irish, he constantly wears green, has an accent?"

Finn blinked and frowned at the fact that Drew would be calling Rory Irish, like it was a nick name. "Yeah that'd be him."

"Sorry," Drew apologized as he glanced at Finn. "I have PE with him, and that's what that hockey moron Rick calls him. I never did catch his name before."

Finn started to drive again when the light turned green. "It's okay I guess. It's just I kind of ran into him the other day, while trying to avoid Kurt and Blaine, and he and I started talking and we're now friends."

Drew nodded. "That's cool, so what's got you all epically pained about that?"

Finn sighed. "Well on Tuesday I finally paid attention as to who was in my classes for the first time since school started and well, Rory's in my Folklore and Mythology class along with Mercedes."

Drew nodded to let Finn know that he was still listening. So Finn continued. "I got to acting pretty pathetic and Mercedes cornered me after class to ask if I like liked Rory. And I kind of panicked, because I didn't want to consider that."

"So…" Drew prompted Finn. Drew used his hands in a rolling gesture to get Finn to talk.

"So…" Finn began, but he froze up.

Drew sighed. "Look you're the one that wanted to do this, so you need to finish this, Finn. I am not going to sit here in your truck pulling teeth to get you to say something."

Finn stopped at a stop sign before he quickly turned a corner. "So, it wasn't until Mercedes said that that I thought about it. After she did, it was all that I could think of, about how attractive that I find Rory. But at the same time I don't want to act on it, because of all the emotional baggage that I'm carrying from mine and Kurt's break up."

Drew was quiet for a moment again before he spoke. "Do you know if Rory is straight or not? Because I think that would be a big problem if he was."

Finn shook his head. "I don't know if he is straight or not. Though the day that I met him, I had asked if he had any interests and one thing he said was that he was interested in girls mostly. Then he got quiet for a second before he said that he liked video games. But he also seemed comfortable with me being bi though."

Drew didn't say anything for five minutes until Finn pulled into the school parking lot. "I am sure that Josh or Sam would have something better to tell you Finn, because I am really not sure what to tell you. I honestly think that you should try talking to Mercedes, and just ask her to not tell anyone. But, hey what do I know? Rory might just be what the love doctor ordered to help you get over Kurt."

Finn pulled into a parking spot and shut his truck off. "Thanks Drew. You gave me something to think about."

Drew smiled as they both got out of Finn's truck. "No problem, Finn."

With that both Finn and Drew walked into the school.

-Kurt-

Kurt was a little shocked when he heard Finn's truck start and leave when he got downstairs that morning. But he brushed it off and grabbed a multigrain cereal bar, and a glass of milk, before he too was out the door. By the time Kurt arrived at school, Blaine was waiting for him at the front doors. "Morning, Blaine Warbler."

Blaine smiled at the nick name. "I could say the same to you, but you were never a Warbler."

Kurt smiled back. "That's probably a good thing. I don't think that I would have been able to pull off the whole boarding school look."

Blaine chuckled. "No, you probably wouldn't have."

Kurt opened the front door to the school and the two of them walked in. Kurt adjusted his bag as he spoke. "I got a question for you; do you know anyone named Rory by any chance?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't. May I ask why?"

Kurt sighed. "Well, like you and Carole both said that I have been acting stupidly selfish lately, so I decided that I was going to try and make amends with Finn, before I can't."

Blaine nodded to let Kurt know that he was following him so far. "Well you know that yesterday during glee that Rachel was once again trying to convince Finn that they need to date again, and Finn bolted out of the room when Mr. Schue said we were dismissed. So I quickly tried to catch up to Finn and before I turned the corner I heard Finn talking to someone. Finn mentioned Brittany, and the other kid said something about Britt's cat, so I texted Britt and I found out through Britt that the kids name was Rory. So I tried to ask Finn last night if Rory was his new friend and I got brushed off from Finn with a flamethrower."

Blaine shook his head and sighed. "Look part of the reason Finn brushed you off the way he did is because he is still hurt by you saying that you guys were over. Back before he was shanghaied into going to, umm…for the lack of a better word, Candyland."

Kurt shot Blaine a dirty look, but Blaine shrugged it off. "Finn told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. He told me that he couldn't picture himself with anyone else. He then told me the one time he did talk to me after he got home, that you were the only thing that kept him going. Then you turned around and pretty much turned his whole world upside down, and shattered it like glass."

They arrived at Kurt's locker first. "So you're saying that this is my entire fault then?"

Blaine shook his head side to side. "Not entirely, mostly yes, but not entirely. Look at this way you told Finn that you felt he needed time to himself to make sure that a relationship between the two of you is what he really wanted and that if it was then you two could try it again. He told you at the end of July and right before school started that you were what he wanted. You told him when you broke up that you couldn't trust him. Then he told you he was ready you said that you weren't ready. And I believe your words in August as you told me were: 'I don't know if I can.' Did I miss anything?"

Kurt unzipped his backpack and started swapping out binders and books. "What is your point, Blaine?"

Blaine sighed again as if the answer should have been simple. "You told Finn that you would be willing to try again, and every time he goes to try again, you turn around and make it sound that you are less and less interested in having a relationship with him. I think Finn now thinks that you no longer want him, and that you are still angry with him over what he did."

Kurt shut his locker. "I'm not mad at him anymore like I was, before the truth came out. I just don't understand why he didn't think that he could trust me enough to tell me what was going on. I felt betrayed because I thought I could trust him and vice versa, but in actuality he couldn't trust me. How is a relationship supposed to function without trust? Let alone lies and secrets."

Blaine gave Kurt a sad look. "Look Kurt, you're going to find out that any relationship needs lies, just as much as it needs truth. You could say the same thing about trust."

Kurt gave Blaine an incredulous look as he walked away. Kurt turned and quickly followed. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Blaine looked over at Kurt. "I read it on a fortune cookie once; it sounded like a good time to use it."

Kurt stopped in his tracks as Blaine disappeared into the morning hustle and bustle before school started and tried to sort out what Blaine had told him. As Kurt continued to reflect on what Blaine said he then made his way to his morning class.

-Finn-

Finn had pulled together three desks so that he, Mercedes and Rory could begin that morning when class started. Finn was surprised that Mercedes beat Rory to class that morning, but he didn't say anything. Finn was even more surprised that Rory was especially quiet that morning and looking really down. They worked as a group on their packet, and Finn kept thinking that maybe Drew was right and he should give Mercedes a shot. Just as the bell rang Finn decided to swallow his pride and ask. "Hey, Mercedes, I was wondering if your offer to talk still stood."

Mercedes looked shocked that Finn had changed his mind, but she smiled to ease the tension. "Yeah, of course Finn, we can talk at lunch."

Finn smiled back. "Ok, thanks!"

Mercedes continued to smile. "It's no problem, Finn. I'll see you then."

With that Mercedes left and Finn turned to see Rory looking like someone had told him that his dog died. Finn nudged Rory's shoulder. "Are you okay, Rory?"

Rory shook his head. "No, I'm not."

Finn frowned at that. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rory glanced up at Finn, and the look in his eyes had the look of pure terror. "No."

Finn just frowned a little more. "Look, I'd like to help. You've helped me a lot, and I'd like to return the favor."

Rory looked confused about how he was helping Finn, but he nodded. "I had some angry girl after me this mornin', because she knew that I have a crush on Brittany. And because Brittany thinks that I am a Leprechaun, she wants me to grant her a wish, because apparently I am like Brittany's pet Irish."

Finn frowned. "Was this girl about oh so high," Finn held his hand up to give a height, "and has kind of what looks like tan skin and black hair and wearing a WMHS cheerleading uniform?"

At Rory's vigorous head nod, Finn felt sorry for him. "I'm sorry about Santana; she can be kind of intense."

Rory shook his head. "She looked murderous."

Finn smiled internally at that one. "Look, don't let her get to you. Santana thrives on insults, insulting people, and fear."

Rory looked like he didn't want to have anything to do with Santana, and honestly Finn felt that was going to be a task easier said than done. With that Finn and Rory split to go to their next classes that they had.

Finn zoned out in his government class, and then he ran into Rory again as they went to Spanish. Finn found Rory speaking Spanish with and Irish accent about one of the most amazing things he's ever heard. The first time, that Mr. Schue had Rory speak in class, it was funny, but at the same time it wasn't. Finn shook his head to try and clear it.

Finn and Rory, walked by Kurt and Blaine and Finn noticed that Kurt seemed to scowl, and Blaine looked like he approved of them, which didn't seem to ease Finn's uneasiness.

"Finn, are you listening?" Rory asked.

Finn shook his head again. "Sorry Rory, I just have a lot on mind and I apologize for that. What were you saying?"

Rory looked like he was upset that Finn hadn't heard him. Finn sighed. "Rory, I promise I wasn't ignoring you intentionally. I swear that I wouldn't do that to you."

Rory gave a small smile. "What I said was that Santana came up to me in between classes last period, and she said that for her wish she wanted Brittany to go with her and join Mercedes in the other glee club that's here at school."

"Shit!" Finn swore. "Do you know anything else?"

Rory shook his head. "No, I don't, I'm sorry Finn."

Finn let his anger set to the side. "I don't blame you. It's just that if Santana and Brittany defect over to the other group then we won't have enough people to compete at sectionals."

Rory looked even sadder at that. "I'm sorry. I should have been honest with Brittany and told her from the start that I wasn't a Leprechaun. Then you guys wouldn't be in this mess."

Finn shook his head and he reached out and put his arm around Rory's shoulder. "It's not your fault, and this probably would have happened anyway."

They sat down just as Mr. Schue came into the room, and Finn fired a quick text to the guys about what Santana was planning, and Finn got from Mike and Artie a 'who's Rory' remark. After the bell rang for the end of class, Finn and Rory, made their way to the lunch room. Drew caught up with them just outside the cafeteria, and he had a hold of Puck by the arm. Drew then shoved Puck into the wall a little hard and then turned to Finn. "You'll never guess what cowlick here just did."

Finn knew that this couldn't be good. "Puck, what did you do?"

Puck pushed himself up off of the wall and adjusted his letterman jacket. "I had a little chat with Britt and Santana."

Finn thought he now knew how things felt as they went down the toilet. Finn could just feel everything spinning out of his control, and that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "What did you say, to them, Puck?"

Finn knew that Puck saw the crushed face that he was wearing and Puck's silence only seemed to make things worse in Finn's mind. Just at that moment Santana and Brittany walked by, and Finn saw that Brittany had tears rolling down her face, and Santana semi yelled out at them with a smug expression. "Thanks for my wish, Pixie boy. You do great work!"

Puck cleared his throat and talked like a much chastised child. "I lost my temper a little with Brittany, and told her that she was being stupid about thinking that Rory was a Leprechaun and that her whole belief in Santa last year…"

"Stop, Puck, just stop there." Finn rubbed his temples because this was just what he didn't want to hear at the moment. "You do realize now that we need to find two people to qualify for sectionals."

Puck looked like the idea hadn't occurred to him. "I didn't think of that."

Finn sighed. "Well Puck, I hope you're happy with the results. Not only did we lose two more people, but you have messed things up between Rory and Brittany."

Puck seemed like he wanted to curl in on himself. Finn just didn't care at that moment. "I'll talk to all of you guys later. I need to go talk to Mercedes."

With that Finn left Rory, Puck, and Drew, and Finn ducked into the lunchroom, where he saw Mercedes talking to her new boyfriend Shane. Finn didn't really know what to think about Shane really, but he did know that he thought Sam was a better choice for Mercedes.

Finn walked up to where he was in ear shot of them when he heard Shane speak. "Why do you need to talk to Finn?"

Mercedes let out a slight sigh. "eHHe's going through a tough time right now and he asked if he could talk to me about a few things. It'll be okay Shane, he won't hurt me."

Shane gave Mercedes a look but he nodded. "Fine, go talk to him."

"Thanks honey!" Mercedes said as she gave Shane a hug and then she turned to meet Finn. "Hey, Finn did you want some lunch?"

Finn nodded, he was trying to get his thoughts in order as he followed Mercedes to the lunch line, Finn saw Drew looking at him as they got into line, and Drew gave Finn a small knowing smile. Finn went through the line with Mercedes and he looked out at the sea of tables looking for a place to sit, and then his eyes settled on Kurt and Blaine. Kurt was looking right at Finn. Finn looked away and he then followed Mercedes outside to one of the picnic tables that afforded them at least a little more privacy. But on the way out Finn felt like he was being watched. Mercedes sat down and she gestured for Finn to do the same.

Once Finn was seated he sighed, as he continued to try and separate what he wanted to talk to Mercedes about and his frustration with Puck making Brittany and Santana quit just wasn't helping matters. Mercedes cleared her throat and then asked. "So, what's on your mind?"

"If I was being honest with myself, far too much than I care to have." Finn replied as he stared at the pizza pocket he got.

Mercedes gave Finn a small smile. "So how is your day so far?"

Finn was grateful that Mercedes wasn't asking about Rory right away. "It was ok, until right before lunch when Drew told me what Puck did to Brittany."

Mercedes gave Finn a puzzled look and was about to ask when Finn shook his head. "You'll know before the afternoon is up, but this isn't what we were going to talk about though."

Mercedes nodded. "You wanted to talk about Rory, and Kurt didn't you?"

Finn didn't say anything but Mercedes felt that she had her answer. "So which do you want to start with first? The easy topic: Rory or the hard one: Kurt?"

Finn sighed and he picked up his spoon and pushed around the applesauce he had grabbed. "I don't know, you pick, Mercedes."

Mercedes seemed to think for a minute and decided to just put Finn out of his misery. "Let's start with Kurt, shall we?" When Finn didn't say anything, Mercedes spoke. "So what's going on with you and Kurt?"

"I don't know." Finn replied. "You know that we broke up back in July."

When Mercedes nodded, Finn continued. "When we broke up Kurt said that he wanted to give me some time to figure out if a relationship with him was what I had wanted. Well I went to talk to him at the end of July and he said that he wasn't quite ready. So I waited until just before we started school, and he was like 'Well, I don't know if I can.' Cede, I know that I hurt him, and I know that after everything was out in the open that he understood why. But it's like he shut me out. We hardly ever talk at home like we used to. He doesn't come up with a glass of warm milk after we're done with homework. It's like a big part of me is missing."

Finn glanced up and saw the sad face that Mercedes was giving him, and then Finn felt the tears slide down his cheeks. "Sorry, I thought I was done crying about all of this." Finn said as he wiped at the tears.

"Finn, have you tried talking to him?" Mercedes asked softly.

Finn shook his head yes. "I did up until school started. I tried to every day, and all I seemed to get from Kurt was the silent treatment, and then when school started and he Blaine got together, it was like I went from being a vase or a picture, to not existing at all. At least up until the day I met Rory, and then it was like he needed to be all up in my business. He asked about Rory last night and I just got really irritated because he had like ignored me for so long and then he was trying to act is if the last two and a half months never happened."

Mercedes was quiet as she sorted through the information and she ate some of her chicken pot pie. "I think that you should try talking to him again and just try and get your guys friendship back. Look Finn, if it helps I know that he still cares about you. He asked me Tuesday to keep an on you and to find out about Rory. I didn't tell him anything, I swear other than that you were still not happy about how things were between the two of you."

Finn gave Mercedes a small smile. "Thanks, but you didn't really need to do that."

Mercedes returned the smile. "Yes, I did. And quite frankly, if you ask me, I think Kurt was an idiot when he let you go. Especially after you got back and the truth came out. I told him then that he needed to grow up because at the time, you needed him the most and he could only think of himself when he dumped you. I think I might have even slapped him too, but I don't remember."

Finn gave a small snort, which made Mercedes smile a little bit more before she continued. "But like I said, I think that before you worry about dating Kurt again, you should try and rebuild your friendship first. Get him to play a card game, or even a two player board game. Just something that will require very little attention, but it will give the two of you a chance to talk."

Finn nodded at that. "So what do I do about Blaine?"

Mercedes shook her head. "I would leave Blaine out of the equation at least for now. As for Blaine and Kurt being an item I don't think that they are, because Kurt hasn't told me anything. But I do see your point it's hard to think otherwise with the way they are acting around each other. While I'm thinking about it though, I think the problem between you and Kurt is that Kurt doesn't trust you."

Finn frowned at that. "Why wouldn't he trust me?"

Mercedes seemed to stop to think of how to phrase what she wanted to say. "This is what I think, and if I know Kurt, like I think I do this is probably it. The reason I say that he doesn't trust you is because that week before you left, and up until we all went to get you, Kurt was under one impression about why you left. Then he found the letter and found out that the reason you were gone was completely different from what he thought. So he finds out that you lied to him, and that you didn't trust him enough to tell him what was going on. I think he's just not sure if he can trust you again since you did break his heart again. But at the same time I think he's waiting for you to show him that he can trust you again."

Finn blinked. With what Mercedes had just told him, it all seemed to make perfect sense now to Finn now. It now seemed like the last two and a half months just release most of the tension in Finn's shoulders and back. Finn felt himself relax and breathe deeply for what felt like in forever. "Thanks, Mercedes. You've just released a lot of my worries and concerns."

Mercedes smiled. "I can tell, you seemed to have gone from being stiff as a tree to play dough."

Finn smiled, and then quickly took a few bites of his pizza pocket. Mercedes also took the moment to eat a little bit more of her lunch, and soon a peaceful quiet developed between them, so they ate their lunch before they moved onto the next topic. Which Mercedes was more than willing to start, "So, now what's the deal with you and Rory."

Finn let out a small laugh. "Other than me finding him undeniably charming and adorable?"

Mercedes laughed. "Yes, other than that?"

Finn shook his head. "It really wasn't until you said what you had said after class on Tuesday for me to realize that I was…_am_ crushing on him."

Mercedes smiled at Finn. "So what do you know about him?"

Finn shrugged. "Not much really. I know that he likes NASCAR, our president, Victoria's Secret Catalogs, music, he finds football interesting, and video games, and that he really likes this group called Celtic Thunder that's from Ireland." Finn smiled as he remembered Rory's comment about having what looked like a twin in the group. "Though he did say one thing that I guess, it just made me unconsciously start to crush on him, but I don't know."

"What did he say?" Mercedes asked as she stacked her and Finn's lunch trays together.

Finn chuckled. "Well I guess I should back up a little bit. I had ducked into a classroom to avoid Kurt and Blaine, and he was in there and he was looking at me like a little kid on Christmas does when they find out that they just got a whole lot of presents. Well anyway he knew who I was because I guess there is a video on You Tube of Rachel kissing me at Nationals. So we introduced our selves, and I told him about Rachel causing us to lose, and that I had a boyfriend. So then he asked if I was gay and I said no, and that I was bi and he seemed to be comfortable with that."

Mercedes nodded as she listened to Finn. "Then he was all like 'I didn't know there were gay people in America.' So I was like there was a lot, but when he was telling me about his interests he had said girls mostly. What do you think that he meant by that?"

Mercedes looked surprised to hear that. "I'm not sure what to tell you on that one, Finn. About the only thing that I can think of would be to talk to him about it. I mean what harm is there in asking, right?"

Finn gave a nervous laugh. "It would be losing a friend, because they think that their guy friend is coming on to them. That's what partially what was going through my mind when I freaked out on Kurt during our sophomore year, while we were all doing that theatricality assignment."

Mercedes nodded her head that she understood. "Well would you like me to ask him?"

Finn turned stark white and squeaked. "NO!" Finn cleared his throat and then said in a lower and calmer voice. "Sorry, but like I had said on Tuesday, I don't know if Rory likes guys, and let alone me for that matter. Besides there are a lot more attractive guys at this school any way."

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Finn sighed. "This is the first time that I have found myself attracted to someone other than Kurt, and it's just a lot for me to take in right now."

Mercedes smiled and she reached out and patted Finn on the arm. "It's understandable. It really is, and if you ask me I think you and Rory would make a really cute couple."

Finn scrunched his face at that as they stood up. "I don't know, do you really think that could happen?"

Mercedes shrugged as she grabbed her bag. Finn had his and had also grabbed the lunch trays. "I think you should talk to Rory, and if you and he hit it off, then great."

Finn smiled. "Thanks Mercedes. I finally feel like myself for once, and not swirling around in the ever flushing toilet of despair."

Mercedes laughed as she grabbed the doors to let them back into the lunch hall, just as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch and for everyone to head to class. Finn set the trays down after he cleaned them off and followed Mercedes out. "Mercedes, would you be able to keep this between us?"

Mercedes nodded. "I pinky promise Finn. I won't tell anyone, not even Kurt."

Mercedes held up her pinky and Finn stared at it for 30 seconds before he too raised his own pinky and joined his with Mercedes. "Thanks."

"It's no problem, Finn. If you want to talk about all this some more, I'm willing to be there for you to have someone to talk to. I can only imagine how you feel since Josh isn't here for you to go to for advice."

Finn nodded. "Thanks, again. I better let you go; my next class is on the other side of the school."

With that Finn and Mercedes went their separate ways.

-Kurt-

Kurt was annoyed with Blaine. Kurt had wanted to see what Mercedes and Finn were up to and Blaine managed to keep him seated all through lunch. But Kurt then managed to convince himself to wait to talk to Mercedes during their free period. So when his free period arrived, Kurt was practically fidgety and when he got to the library, he was surprised to see Mercedes there already.

Kurt went in and sat down across from her and pulled out his French homework. "So I noticed that you and Finn had lunch together today."

Mercedes looked up from what she was working on and glanced at Kurt. "We did, is that a problem?"

Kurt shook his head as he rooted through his backpack for a mechanical pencil. "No, it's just that I've never seen you two look so….um….friendly."

Mercedes looked back down at her work. "He is a friend, and he asked if he could talk to me about some things that he's going through."

Kurt felt like he missing something as he located his pencil and put his name on his worksheet. "What did you guys talk about?"

Mercedes looked up and glared at Kurt. "I'm not telling you. It's something that's staying between me and Finn."

Kurt shrugged his shoulders, as Mercedes went back to her work. "That's fine; I don't want to get in between yours and Finn's budding new friendship any way."

Mercedes set her pen down and glared at Kurt. "You don't know what's going on with Finn because you won't talk to him. He came to me because Josh isn't here anymore and neither is Sam, so just back off."

Kurt frowned at the mention of Josh. Kurt still felt that there might be something between those two even though they had only kissed twice before that Kurt knew of. "So, I take it I was the topic of conversation then? I only say that because Josh was Finn's go to person when he didn't know how to handle me."

Mercedes had barely picked her pen up when she gave Kurt an even angrier glare than before, and Kurt could tell that he was starting to make her mad and that he should probably watch his mouth. "You seem to be awfully full of yourself, Kurt if you seem to think you know what we talked about."

Kurt didn't say anything for a moment as he returned Mercedes glare with one of his own. "Ok, so I might be a little bit. I just don't see why Finn would talk to you is all."

Kurt knew instantly that he was in trouble when Mercedes slammed her book shut. "Look Kurt, you know that I love you as a brother, but I am not going to sit here and play 20 questions with you over Finn, or what Finn and I talked about. You think that this all revolves around you, because you want to have a pity party because Finn isn't confiding in you. I told you back in July what I thought about your decision to breakup with him and if you're upset because Finn might finally be moving on to someone else other than you, then I really do feel sorry for you."

With that Mercedes grabbed her stuff and she walked out of the library and Kurt earned himself a 'be quiet' from the old librarian, and Kurt then glanced down at his homework and glared at it like it was the cause of all of his problems. Kurt then took a moment to reflect on what Mercedes had said to him and both Carole and Blaine's comments about him becoming stuck up and self-absorbed and it all seemed to hit him at once. It was one thing to have Carole and Blaine say that he was only thinking of himself, but when your best friend tells you then you know that you have a problem.

Kurt just sat in the library wallowing in his own thoughts, and barely heard the bell ring for glee. Kurt stuffed his stuff back into his bag, and then he went on autopilot to glee. Kurt didn't even register what the assignment was, for all during rehearsal all he could was stare at Finn, who happened to sit in front of him. Kurt knew that Finn knew that he was being stared at since Finn had glanced back at him several times during rehearsal.

"Kurt!"

Kurt blinked and he realized that they were dismissed and that Blaine was waiting on him. Kurt cleared his throat. "Sorry, I just had something on my mind."

Blaine gave Kurt a small smile. "That's fine. So do you want to go get coffee with Rachel and Mercedes?"

Kurt shook his head. "No I don't think that would be a good idea. I'm kind of on Mercedes bad side right now."

Blaine's eyes narrowed at Kurt. "Do I even want to know what you did?"

Kurt sighed as he picked up his stuff. "No, you don't. I'm a little angry with myself for letting my anger getting out of hand, and I said something that was not fair to her, and it pointed out to me that I have become more self-centered than usual."

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Wow, um…ok, I'll just tell Rachel a rain check then."

Kurt nodded. "Thanks Blaine, I'm just going to go home and work on my homework."

Blaine nodded and he left to go talk to Rachel. As Kurt left he noticed that he, Blaine, Rachel, Artie, and Puck were the only ones left in the room. So Kurt let out a small sigh and he headed out to his Navigator and he went straight home. Once he pulled up he noticed that Finn's truck was also there and Kurt decided that he was going to chance on talking to Finn.

Kurt climbed out of his Navigator and walked over and went in through the kitchen door. Once he was inside, Kurt noticed two things. One: there were two mugs of warm milk on the table, and secondly: the two halves of the game _Battleship_ also were on the table. And before Kurt could even ponder what was going on, Finn came walking back into the room and he paused when he saw Kurt standing by the door.

Kurt looked from the table to Finn. "So what's going on?"

Finn gave a small smile. "I was wondering if you'd like to play a game of _Battleship_ with me. That and I thought that it would give us a chance to talk."

Kurt blinked, because this seemed a little too weird for him. But Kurt nodded and he went over and sat down at the table and he opened up his side of the game board. Finn had done the same. They hadn't said a word and once their ships were in place they both looked at each other. Kurt sighed. "Do you want to go first?"

Finn nodded, "how about B5?"

Kurt glanced down at his board. "You missed. May I ask what brought this on?"

Finn was quiet for a moment. "Mom was right the other night. You and I have practically become strangers to each other and I just decided that things need to be done, so that later on we're not even more of a dysfunctional family."

Kurt nodded that he agreed. "For my move, I want G7. I want to apologize for ignoring you all summer and then practically make you feel invisible when Blaine started coming around. I realize that I haven't been fair to you in that regards."

Finn smiled. "You missed. Thanks, I guess I did deserve it though. Um, let's go with H5?"

Kurt glanced down and noticed that Finn hit his submarine. "You made a hit. No, with the way that I treated you, you didn't deserve it one bit. I was being selfish, and I was hurting, and I just wanted you to hurt like I did. I just didn't think about what you had just been through, and I was being inconsiderate of your feelings. I think I want F9."

Finn shook his head. "You missed again. No I understand why you did though. I had broken your heart and I lost your trust. I broke that trust because I was being selfish in the fact that I wanted to protect you. I also think that's why you and I drifted apart is because you feel that you can't trust me, and in all honesty, I don't blame you one bit. I think I want H6."

Kurt was shocked that Finn picked up on the fact that he didn't feel like he could trust him. "Another hit. You're right, though. That's why I can't agree to a relationship with you right now Finn. It's because I just don't feel like I can trust you. I'll admit that I am glad to hear that you still did want to be with me after what you went through, but I admit that I sound selfish in saying this, but I still don't feel like I can trust you enough to go back down that road yet. Let me have A6."

"You have a hit." Finn said, but he didn't say anything. Finn was quiet for so long that Kurt felt like he might have said something wrong. But when Finn looked up, Kurt could tell that the smile Finn gave him was a fake one. "I understand, I really do, Kurt. Give me H7."

After that they didn't really go for the small talk anymore, and just continued to play _Battleship_, until Carole got home, Finn won by two ships, and she was glad to see them getting along for the first time in a while. Kurt felt that his opportunity to make things right with Finn may have shut, but he changed his mind as Finn told him about the whole Brittany, Puck, Santana drama that had gone down earlier in the day that Kurt missed in his space out during glee where Drew explained why Santana and Brittany weren't there and Mr. Schue being upset with Puck.

Burt even mentioned during dinner that he was glad to see them getting along again, and that it was a nice change from what it had been. After Kurt had taken a shower he had gone to Finn's room and he noticed that the door was shut. Kurt knocked on the door, and he waited until Finn opened it. "Um…hey, did you need something?"

Kurt let out a sigh. "Can I come in for a moment? I don't want to be in the hall and have dad and Carole over hear."

Finn shrugged and he moved aside to let Kurt in. Kurt hadn't been in Finn's room since June, and he noticed that there were a few minor changes. Finn went over and sat down on his computer chair and he watched Kurt before he spoke. "What did you want to say?"

Kurt turned to look at Finn, and he felt all his repressed emotions about Finn fighting to break loose. "I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated what you did today. It was nice to talk to you for change rather than fighting."

Finn nodded that he understood. "You're welcome."

Kurt went over and sat on the edge of Finn's bed and he looked into Finn's brown eyes. "I also wanted to apologize for being nosy last night about Rory. It's not any business of mine, and for that I am sorry."

Finn gave Kurt a small smile. "Thanks, Kurt."

Kurt took a deep breath before he sighed. "I would also just like to say that, I would like to work out our differences and get back to being friends and brothers again."

Kurt thought he saw a small glimpse of sadness cross Finn's face, but it was gone before Kurt could really decide on what it was. It seemed like Finn was getting better at hiding his emotions from him.

Finn shook his head. "Yeah, that'd be cool Kurt."

Kurt wanted to say more, but he felt like Finn had just dismissed him. Kurt stood and he moved over to the door and he turned back to look at Finn. "Good night, Finn."

Finn glanced over from where he was "Good night to you too, Kurt."

With that Kurt left Finn's room and he went to his and fell into a restless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 Make You a Deal

**AN 1: So in the second Rory scene, the clothes that Rory will be wearing if look at Damien's performance of Jessie's Girl from The Glee Project. I tried to describe it, but yeah I think I failed at that. So I think that's it for now, enjoy the chapter, and please review! ~ Draco**

Chapter 3

Make You a Deal

-Rory-

Rory stood outside Brittany's door, he felt bad for lying to her but he thought that if he played along, at Brittany's parents request even, he might finally get lucky, and finally be able to figure things out. When he was back in Ireland for the last year, Rory had found himself looking at not just girls but guys as well. He was never so happy when he was accepted to be a foreign exchange student; he thought that maybe being away from home all of it would just go away.

Rory couldn't have been anymore wrong about that. Granted when he got to America and then to Brittany's house he wasn't sure what to expect, and then Brittany found out that he was from Ireland, and she then automatically assumed that he was a Leprechaun. Rory had gone to Brittany's parents about it and they said that he should just play along, and then they would try and explain it to her on a later date. The day that they explained it to her, Brittany just didn't accept it and she understood what her parents doing by trying to protect Rory Leprechaun's secret.

Rory let out a sigh because what had started out as a harmless joke, _well if you can call it a joke _Rory thought, turned into a complete disaster. He probably lost a friend in Brittany, and he realized with horror that his feelings about liking guys became even more evident, when he met Finn. When he had first watched Finn on You Tube, he was just amazed that Finn was a talented person. Then he got embarrassed, because he would go back and keep watching that video just so that he could just watch Finn. Then it hit him after he got through the door after Finn dropped him off on Tuesday, he had a really bad crush on Finn, plus add the fact that he almost let it slipped that he liked guys.

But what Rory didn't know was if Finn was available or not. He had decided late Tuesday night that he wanted to try out things with Brittany before he tried things with Finn, but this Puck guy had pretty much ruined that whole plan. Ever since he had gotten back to Brittany's house that day, he told Mrs. Pierce what had happened and she said that she'd talk to Britt. When she came back a while later, Mrs. Pierce said that she had talked to Brittany, and that she would talk to him.

So this is why Rory was now standing in front of Brittany's door beating himself up over everything. Rory let out sigh and he knocked on the door. After a minute he heard a soft, "Come in."

Rory opened the door and he walked into Brittany's room. Brittany was sitting on her bed holding onto a stuffed unicorn, and she glanced up when he closed the door. "Brittany, I'm so sorry."

Brittany sniffed and she looked up at Rory. "I just don't understand. You had gotten an all marshmallow box of _Lucky Charms_, and you made Lord Tubbington poop candy bars. So how can you not be a Leprechaun?"

Rory swallowed, and then sighed. "Brittany, I didn't want to hurt you, but your parents told me to just go along with it. As for the _Lucky Charms_, I bought several boxes and opened them and then took out all the marshmallows and put them into one box, and then resealed the box with a glue gun. As for your cat pooping candy bars, I just opened two candy bars and set them on top of the kitty litter."

Brittany stared at Rory as he spoke. "So you're not magical then?"

Rory shook his head. "No, I'm not. The other reason I went along with it, was because I am just really lonely here and I really wanted you to like me. You're like the only friend I have here other than Finn, and I would feel even worse than I already do if I lost you as a friend."

Brittany looked back down at the unicorn she was holding and she sighed as she hugged it. It was quiet for a few minutes before Rory cleared his throat. "Brittany?"

Brittany looked back up and she asked. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Rory wasn't sure what she was asking about. "I'm not sure I understand what you're asking Brittany."

Brittany shook her head. "Is there anything else that you should tell me that you're lying about?"

Rory shook his head. "No there's not, and again I am truly sorry about the whole Leprechaun thing."

Brittany looked up and she gave Rory a small smile. "It's okay Rory, I forgive you."

The relief that flooded through Rory was instantaneous. "Oh, thank you Brittany!"

With that Rory went over and hugged Brittany on her bed. After a moment Rory let her go and he cleared his throat. "Brittany, can I ask you something?"

Rory was surprised to see that Brittany's initial upset was now disappearing and she was slowly getting back to normal Brittany. "Sure, Rory what's up?"

Rory decided to just skip the bumbling over himself as he talked. "I heard that Finn liked guys? I was just wondering if there was any truth to that."

Brittany lit up like a Christmas tree. "Finn is so totally a dolphin!"

Rory frowned at that because he did not understand the reference. Not one bit. Rory shook his head. "So is that a yes, then?"

Brittany nodded. "He dated Kurt for a long time. I think they were together for a year."

Rory looked down at Brittany's comforter, but he couldn't place Kurt's name with a face. "Is Finn dating anyone?"

Brittany shook her head. "Not since he and Kurt broke up this summer. Rachel has wanted to get back together with him for a long time, but he doesn't want to. Why are you asking?"

Rory just smiled. "I was just curious because Finn didn't…"

Brittany squealed with delight and Rory stopped talking. Brittany then moved closer to him. "Oh my gosh, Rory, you're a dolphin too! And you like Finn!"

Rory felt his face heat up quickly. Whether it was due to Brittany actually figuring out that he was into Finn or the fact that he thinks he possibly might have figured out what dolphin meant. "Brittany, I…I…"

Brittany scooted even closer to him and she grabbed Rory's hand. "It's totally okay, Rory. I'm Finn's fag hag; I can so totally get him to give you a chance."

Rory wasn't sure what a fag hag was. "What do you mean?" Rory asked a little breathily.

Brittany cocked her head to side and she gave a half smile. "You want to go on a date, and be Finn's dolphin boyfriend, right? Please say that I'm right! "

Rory looked down at his hands; he didn't even know where to start with this mess. "Brittany, if I may."

Brittany bounced around like an energetic puppy, and Rory sighed and he decided to just let Brittany handle it. "Could you see if he would want to go on a date with me? Just please don't tell him that it's me though."

Brittany leaned forward and hugged him, and then kissed both of his cheeks. "I will, I will have a date for you tomorrow night, and I know that Finn loves pizza, so you can meet him at Pizza Hut for your date at 7:00pm. It is going to be a beautiful date for you!"

"Thanks, Brittany." Rory said, he decided that he better make an exit before something else happened before he couldn't try and talk Brittany out of it. "Well, I better go finish my homework for English."

"Okay, well good night Rory!" Brittany cheered as Rory got up and left Brittany's room.

Once he was down the hall and in his room, Rory went over to his desk and then thumped his head on it a couple of times. "Oh bloody hell; what have I gotten myself into!"

Rory then sat up and attempted to work on his homework, before he went to bed.

-Finn-

It was not a good morning for Finn. First he over slept by 30 minutes and then he had forgot his back pack, and then had to turn around and go home and get and then hurry back to school. Plus on top of it all he wasn't able to even get a bite to eat. Finn was hoping that he still had time to run over to the cafeteria and grab a cinnamon roll before his first class started.

Finn was sorting through his locker quickly when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over and he saw Brittany smiling at him. "Hi, Britt, how are you this morning?"

"I'm good, but I got something special for you today." Brittany said, and Finn could tell that she was on cloud nine, because she was sure in a good mood.

"Okay cool, what is it?" Finn asked as he resumed sorting out his books and binders out.

"Well as your fag hag it is my responsibility to make you happy, so I'm here to make you happy." Brittany said.

Finn had to think for a moment and then remembered when they did that Disney fundraiser for the hospital just before Regionals last year and Finn said that she could be his fag hag. Finn then smiled at Brittany. "I remember that, so what do you got?"

Brittany gave Finn a smile, that he was sure would make Rachel jealous. "I have found you a date tonight."

The smile on Finn's face fell and he dropped his bag on the floor. "You have what for me?"

Brittany smiled. "I found someone for you to go have a date with tonight. They're paying for the dinner, and you need to be at Pizza Hut at 7:00 tonight."

Finn couldn't contemplate what was happening. "Brittany, did Rachel put you up to this?"

Brittany giggled. "No, she didn't silly. Besides I know that you don't want to be with her."

Finn felt a little better, but not by much. "Can you tell me who it is at least?"

Brittany smiled mischievously. It was so uncharacteristic of Brittany. "Nope you have to show up at Pizza Hut at 7:00 if you want to find out who it is. But I do promise that they do come Brittany S. Pierce approved."

Finn's shoulders dropped. "Please Brittany, I really hate blind dates."

Brittany started moving away from him. "Please Finn do this for me, and all the future baby dolphins that you will have will be happy too."

Before Finn could say anything Brittany was gone. It took almost a minute for Finn to regain his composure and pick his bag up, and then he managed to score a couple cookies before class and he then hurried into his Folklore and Mythology to find out that he had five minutes before the bell rang, and then Finn just sat there and he didn't realize that anything was going on until he blinked and he saw Mercedes waving her hand in front of his face. "Hey, is anybody home in there?"

Finn blinked a few more times. "I'm sorry, Mercedes."

Mercedes smiled. "It's okay, but what's going on with you? You look like you're about to pass out."

Before Finn could answer Rory came over and sat with them. "Top of the morning to ya, Mercedes and to you Finn," Rory said brightly. "What's the matter with you, Finn?"

Mercedes leaned over. "That's what I asked just before you walked in."

Rory's eyebrows went up as he just realized what was going on. "Oh."

Finn sighed as he glanced between Rory and Mercedes. "Mercedes you remember last year during that Disney charity thing we did for the hospital, and Brittany asked if she could be my fag hag?"

Mercedes smiled and let out a small chuckle. "Yeah I do; so any way on with your story."

Rory held up his hand before Finn spoke. "I don't mean to sound like an idiot, but what do you guys mean by a fag hag? 'Cause I heard Brittany say that last night, and also what does Brittany mean when she says dolphin? I asked her and she didn't give me an answer."

Finn smiled a little. "A fag hag simply put is generally where a straight woman prefers the company of gay or bi men. And Brittany means gay when she's talking about dolphins. She's been on this thing since we were sophomores that dolphins are gay versions of sharks."

"Oh, ok. Sorry to interrupt." Rory said.

Finn smiled a little more before he continued. "Well any way Britt came up to me and she said that she found someone to make me happy since it is her job or something like that."

Mercedes nodded and Rory just watched Finn as he continued. "Well she said that she has a blind date for me tonight at Pizza Hut at 7:00."

Mercedes let out a quiet squeal of delight and Rory smiled, but Mercedes spoke. "Do you know who it is Finn?"

Finn shook his head. "I don't. I asked Britt but all I got was a show up and you'll see."

"Are you excited about it?" Rory asked as he took out their work packet that they were about finished with.

Finn shook his head. "Are you kidding? I absolutely hate blind dates. I don't even know if it's a guy or a girl, so I don't even know what to wear, and on top of that knowing Brittany, it might be some old pedophile that made her think he's our age or something."

"Try to give Brittany a little credit, Finn." Mercedes said as she pulled out their text book and opened it to where they last left off. "Besides, Rory do you know anything about this? The reason I ask is because you're staying with her."

Rory shook his head. "Sadly no, Brittany wouldn't talk to me yesterday. I had to explain to her mom why she was upset, and it was only after Brittany's mom talked to her that she talked to me. I apologized to her about the whole Leprechaun thing. Then she got a phone call, and I just left her room, and all I caught on that phone call was Finn, dolphin, fag hag, and something about tonight. Other than that I don't have a clue."

Finn sighed. "Well thanks for trying at any rate. Maybe I shouldn't go tonight."

"Oh like hell you won't." Mercedes said as she turned in her chair to look at Finn. "You will go to that dinner tonight, or I will drag you personally to it myself. Since Brittany did this for you then you will make it worth the time and effort she put into it for you."

Rory cleared his throat and added. "Besides, how bad could it be?"

Finn sank in his seat. "Fine, but will you help me get ready Mercedes? I'd ask Kurt, but I think this might just piss him off."

Mercedes smiled at Finn. "Sure, I'll help you. But you'll need to bring all of your clothes that you have that are not worn out or holey over to my place."

Finn frowned at that. "Why can't you just come over to my place and help me there?"

"I really don't want to talk or see Kurt right now." Mercedes said as she filled in a couple blank spots in on the worksheet.

Finn straightened up in his chair at that. "What's going on between you and Kurt?"

Mercedes sighed as she handed the packet to Finn. "In a nutshell, he was trying to dig for information about what you and I talked about at lunch, and then he got a little snotty with me and I told him how the cow was going to eat the cabbage and I left."

Finn never thought he'd ever hear, let alone see, Mercedes be mad at Kurt. With that Finn, Rory, and Mercedes completed their packet first and within the first ten minutes of class, and Mr. Bolton didn't have anything else for them to do so they just sat and visited until class was over.

After the bell rang Finn went to his government class and sat there and stewed. He wasn't happy about the situation that Brittany had put him in. Then add the fact that Kurt didn't trust him, so he didn't know what he was more upset over. Artie came in and rolled up next to the table desk that they had in the room for him. "Hey, Finn, how's your morning?"

Finn glanced over. "It's already off to a bad start."

Artie adjusted his glasses. "I'm sorry, that it's off to a bad start."

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, well at least you don't have a blind date tonight, set up by Brittany."

Artie gave Finn a strange look. "How's that a bad thing? I'd gladly take a date it would get me out of the house at least for a night at any rate."

Finn smiled at that. "I'd happily trade you."

Artie chuckled. "I'm good though, I got all this stuff to do for _West Side Story_, so I really don't have the time. But thanks for the offer though."

"Well thanks any way, Artie." Finn said and then the bell rang and then Finn went through the rest of his morning classes without any further of discussion.

At lunch Finn had gone and saw his mom at work and had begged and pleaded for some money to go shopping for some new clothes after school. At first Carole was not happy about it but once Finn explained that it was for a date, Carole all but practically gave Finn her credit card. But with the restrictions that Kurt didn't buy extremely high priced items. Then Finn explained that he was going with Mercedes and if Finn could have put a look to his mother's face, he'd have to go with relieved.

Finn had texted Mercedes about getting new clothes after school and she agreed. The afternoon classes went by quickly and Finn suddenly found himself in glee, before he knew it. Finn was one of the first one's in the room, Rachel only by a few seconds, and Finn went and sat at the top of the risers. Kurt then came in with Quinn, Artie, and Blaine. A few minutes later the rest of the guys came in and both Drew and Puck made a bee line straight for Finn. Puck was just starting up the risers when he spoke. "So what's this I hear about you having a date tonight?"

Finn groaned, because everyone in the room turned in their seats to look at him. "How did you find out?"

Drew cleared his throat. "Brittany just told us as we passed her and Santana as they went to their rehearsal. So who's the lucky person?"

Finn closed his eyes and leaned forward and sighed. "Brittany said that she had a blind date for me tonight, so I don't have a clue as to who it is."

Puck laughed. "Well good luck there Finn. I don't envy you one bit."

At that moment Mr. Schue walked in and he reminded them of finding more members, and then he moved onto some new music that Mr. Schue was thinking on using for sectionals. Once they were dismissed Finn tried to escape, but Kurt blocked his way. "Why didn't you tell me that you had a date night?"

Finn sighed and his shoulders dropped. "I didn't know until this morning. Otherwise I would have told you last night."

Kurt folded his arms. "You had all day to tell me."

Finn frowned. "Look, I need to go. Can we argue about this later?"

Kurt gave Finn a sour look. "Look what you do is your business; I'm just a little hurt that you didn't tell me was all."

Finn shook his head. "No, this isn't a trust issue and you and I both know that. This is about you being jealous because I've got a date, and what's making you even more jealous about it is that you feel threatened by whomever it is that Brittany set me up with."

Finn sidestepped Kurt as Kurt looked at him opening and closing his mouth. By the time Finn got to the doors and exited he could hear Kurt scrambling to gather his stuff and then a moment later Finn could hear the doors burst open. "Finn, you get back here!"

Finn turned around and looked as Kurt came up to him, and Finn noticed that Kurt seemed to have puffed himself up. "Get this through your head! I am not jealous of you! I just want to be friends again, and then build up to being in a relationship again. But how can we do that if you are out dating someone else, let alone being able to trust each other?"

Finn sighed and he grabbed Kurt by the shoulders. "First you told me last night that you didn't trust me to be in a relationship with you right now. Secondly I was going to tell you about it when we had gotten home. Thirdly I wasn't planning on Brittany telling everyone and fourth Puck saying something as well. But since you and I are not dating and we are not boyfriends, that means I am allowed to date and see who I want. You say that you're not jealous, fine."

Finn took a breath and he noticed that Kurt was looking more upset with each word he spoke. "But you are upset about this one way or another. So you need to decide on which one you are feeling whether it be: jealousy, concerns, fears or whatever and you make a choice in how you want to handle all it. And as much as it pains me to say this, yes I still love you Kurt, but last night when we were playing _Battleship_, it made me realize that right now it should be better that we're apart to try and fix this. Otherwise we won't be able to. You need to learn to let go of me, actually let go of me, like I have with you as I did last night. Because you're still stuck on the past, and I am trying to look to mine, no to our future together by letting you go, and you need to do the same."

Finn took a breath and he noticed that during his little impromptu speech Kurt started crying. Finn let a breath of air go. "Look, I'm sorry, Kurt. But I think that's what you needed to hear."

Finn then reached out and he pulled Kurt into a hug and held Kurt for a moment. Kurt laid his head on Finn's chest and he took a breath of air. "When did you get so smart?"

Finn smiled a little. "I guess, I just have my moments."

Finn held onto Kurt for another minute before he leaned his head down and he kissed Kurt on top of his head. "I need to go. I have faith in you Kurt to make the right choices."

With that Finn let go of Kurt, and he turned around and he got in his truck and headed to the mall to meet with Mercedes.

-Mercedes-

"About time you show up white boy." Mercedes said as she said to Finn as he walked up to her through the food court, where Mercedes had sat to wait for Finn.

"Sorry, I was held up by Kurt." Finn said as he drew close to Mercedes as she stood up.

"Oh, really, what did he want?" Mercedes asked, as they turned into the mall.

"Short version, he was upset that I didn't tell him about the blind date tonight, and he found out when Puck and Drew came in and pretty much blabbed it." Finn said as he followed Mercedes. "And you were right about Kurt the other day at lunch."

Mercedes frowned at that. "What exactly was I right about?"

"About Kurt, about how he doesn't trust me." Finn said as they headed into the first store with his head down.

Mercedes sighed. "I'm sorry, Finn. I really truly am sorry."

Finn shook his head. "It's fine, he and I talked last night and for me,…I guess it was what I needed to hear for me to be able to let go of him for now and not push things with him."

Mercedes nodded. "Wow, it sounds like you have given this all some thought."

Finn gave her a small lopsided smile. "I had most of the night and today to think on it. Plus Kurt was acting all jealous, and I called him out on it and he flat out denied it, but I told him that he needed to let me go to if we were going to get back what we had."

Mercedes stopped and she glanced at Finn. "I think I'm going to stop using the DVR to watch Dr. Phil and just come to you."

Finn let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't think that I'd be that good, at whatever it is that he does."

Mercedes smiled. "You're right, but come on let's find you something to wear."

Mercedes then lead Finn over to the men's area and she started looking around and then she looked back at Finn who seemed to be apprehensive. "What would you like to wear tonight?"

Finn blinked. "Well usually Kurt just picks and then makes me try it on. He almost always doesn't ask."

Mercedes gave Finn a small smile. "Well I'm asking and I'm not Kurt, so this is going to be more you deciding than anything."

Finn's eyes went up in surprise at that and then he took a few more steps closer to Mercedes. "I guess a um… a nice shirt."

Mercedes smiled. "Would you like plaid or solid colors?"

"Solid colors please." Finn said.

Mercedes then went through and she eventually pulled out a long sleeved dark green shirt and she handed him one that she hoped was the right size. Finn looked the shirt over and smiled and Mercedes knew that she had made a good decision. "Alright, now let's find you some pants."

So Mercedes then headed over to the pants and did a quick visual inspection. "I think, with that shirt, you almost want to go denim, 'cause if you go with regular dress pants I think it will detract from that shirt."

Finn nodded. "Okay, what would you suggest then on the denim?"

Mercedes stood there for a moment. "I'd say like a dark blue jean, or maybe a light gray maybe."

Finn reached out and grabbed a pair and handed it to Mercedes and she read the tag that read: Southpole Dark Wash Straight Jeans. "Yeah these will work. Let's just make sure they have a pair in your size."

Five minutes later, Finn was standing in front of Mercedes out front of the changing room with the shirt and jeans that they'd picked out. Mercedes was smiling proudly, and Finn had his lopsided grin on. "Do you think that whoever I'm meeting tonight will like this?"

Mercedes let out a giggle. "Are you kidding me? If you don't walk away with a new boyfriend or girlfriend tonight I will personally eat my own underwear."

Finn gave Mercedes a shocked and an appalled look at her after she spoke. Mercedes' giggles then turned into laughter. "I'm kidding Frankenteen. I wouldn't eat anything like that. Now let's get you changed back and pay for this stuff and get to my place and get you ready for tonight."

With that Finn quickly changed again and paid for the clothes, which he then gave to Mercedes and she took them home to wash quickly before Finn's date. Mercedes sent Finn home to get his things that he'd need for a shower and such, and he was then to come over to Mercedes house where she would help him get ready. When Mercedes pulled up to her house she noticed a very familiar black Lincoln Navigator sitting on the street.

Mercedes got out of her car, and her suspicions as to who the Navigator belonged to were revealed as Kurt exited his vehicle. Mercedes and Kurt stood there and stared at each other for a minute before Kurt slowly made his way over to her. "Cede, I just wanted to apologize for what I had said yesterday, because I had no right to say those things."

Mercedes continued to look at Kurt for another minute and then she let a smile form. "Apology accepted, Kurt. But I am still not going to tell you what Finn and I talked about."

Kurt nodded. "That's fine, I'm just sorry about everything. I've just been so concerned about myself since June that I really haven't given Finn a chance, and Finn's right, I need to let him go if I want to get over whatever it is that's making me this horrid person."

Mercedes gestured Kurt to follow her and she entered her home and Kurt followed her to the laundry room, as Mercedes put Finn's new clothes in the washer. "You're not a horrid person Kurt; you've just got all of your priorities turned around."

Kurt sighed. "Finn was right about me today though. I am jealous that Brittany set him up with someone. I just feel that I am going to lose Finn to whoever this person is and then it'll be too late for me to do anything about it."

Mercedes shook her head. "Kurt, you'll always have Finn. You'll always have him as a brother, even if you might never have him as a boyfriend again or even as a husband. But you having him as a brother is a lot more than any of the rest of us can say. But yes, I agree that you need to let him go, because you are holding onto all the past mistakes that he's done, and I think that on some level you know that you are. And once you can let go of the past you can then concentrate on the present and then you can judge Finn for his actions now instead of his past actions."

Kurt nodded and then gave Mercedes a small smile. "Thanks, I better get going. I need to catch up with Blaine."

Mercedes nodded and she showed Kurt to the door. Ten minutes after Kurt left, Finn showed up and Mercedes had Finn jump in the shower and by the time Finn finished, for Finn took his sweet time in the shower. Mercedes had the new clothes dried and she handed them to Finn through the slightly open door, with her eyes closed. Another few minutes later, Finn was sitting at Mercedes vanity as she styled his hair and she did some very minor work on his face, like plucking his eyebrows, and getting Finn to put on Chap Stick.

By then it was time for Finn to leave, and he stood up and gave Mercedes a hug. "Thanks for everything. I'll text you about how it goes. And again, just keep it between us."

Mercedes nodded. "I will, you go get 'em tiger."

Finn smiled and he then left. And Mercedes hoped that whoever was waiting for Finn, would find him irresistible tonight, because she thought she thought she really outdid herself in getting Finn ready.

-Rory-

When Rory got home with Brittany, he was starting to freak out. He had spent the whole day worrying that Finn would figure it out, but it appeared that he truly had the luck of the Irish with him, because Finn hadn't flat out asked if it was him. So now Rory was standing in his room, with Brittany going through his clothes. Rory cleared his throat. "Brittany, I don't want anything to fancy, I mean it's just pizza."

Brittany tossed a few more shirts, before she turned to Rory. "I am going to make you adorable tonight. So that when Finn will be drooling over you tonight."

Rory gave Brittany a confused look as she resumed her search. "Here we go!" Brittany yelled as she pulled out a button up shirt that was gray, with a white collar. She then tossed to Rory who caught it and before Rory knew it Brittany tossed him a pair of blue jeans and then light grayish blue tie.

Rory looked at Brittany for a minute. "What's all this?"

Brittany smiled widely. "This is what you need to wear tonight. Trust me you're going to look fabulous!"

"Okay, if you say so." Rory said and with that Rory went over to the bathroom, and took a quick shower and then he put on the clothes that Brittany had picked for him. A few minutes later he went downstairs and Brittany's mom smiled. "You're looking nice this evening, Rory."

"Uh, thank you Mrs. Pierce." Rory said.

Brittany's mom smiled. "Rory, I've told you several times to just call me mom or Sherry."

Rory nodded. "I'm sorry, it's just a habit."

Sherry smiled. "It's fine. Now Brittany tells me that you have a date tonight, are you excited about it?"

Rory felt his cheeks warm up. "I am, just promise not to be mad about who it's with."

Sherry smiled again. "Honestly after everything that I've been through with Brittany bringing both guys and girls home, nothing could really surprise me sweetheart. So who is it?"

Rory's cheeks seemed to grow even warmer as he cleared his throat. "Brittany set me up with Finn Hudson."

Sherry's smile seemed to widen. "Well that's 20 dollars that Tyson owes me, then."

Rory gave Brittany's mom a confused look and she smiled some more. "Tyson and I had a bet as to whether or not were into guys or not."

Rory felt his whole head blush at that. Sherry gave a small laugh. "It's okay Rory, we won't judge you here. And actually I don't think Brittany could have picked anyone better for you to go on a date with. I've known Finn since he was three, and he and Brittany have been friends since then. Trust me when I tell you that Carole raised a really good boy."

"Th-thanks," Rory stuttered out in his embarrassment.

Sherry moved over and gave Rory a hug. "I will give you a ride to Pizza Hut, but here is 40 dollars for you tonight, because I know that Finn can eat. So go and try to relax for now, and I will come and get you when it's time to go."

Rory nodded, and he took the money that was passed to him and put it in his wallet. Rory then went to the living room and turned the television on and before he knew it Brittany and her mom were ushering him to the car, and then he found himself in front of Pizza Hut.

Rory took a deep breath before he walked in he knew that he had about ten minutes before Finn showed up. Once he was inside a girl a little taller than he was came up to him. "Dine in or carry out for you, sir?"

"Uh, dine in please, but I am waiting for someone." Rory said.

The girl smiled. "Okay, did you want to seat now or wait for them here?"

Rory stood there for a minute and debated. "I'll go ahead and sit now."

The girl continued to smile. "Alright, would you like a table or booth?"

"I'll take a booth please." Rory said as he followed the girl as she went to seat him.

Once she stopped at an empty booth to the back, she set the two menus down on the table and Rory took a seat so that he could watch the door. "Can I get you something to drink while you wait?"

"A water please." Rory said. The girl moved to leave and Rory spoke. "Can I ask you something?"

The girl turned back to Rory. "Sure, go ahead."

"Do you know who Finn Hudson is?" Rory asked.

The girl seemed to think for a minute. "Is he a tall gentleman, brown hair, and plays football at McKinley? Is he who you're meeting tonight?"

Rory nodded and she smiled some more. "Yeah I know him. I'll send him your way when he gets here."

The nice girl brought Rory his water and Rory only had to wait about 15 minutes before Finn showed up. Rory saw his waitress intercept another waitress and she collected Finn and brought him over to where Rory was. Rory could see that Finn was tense and worried and he kept looking around to see what was going on.

When they arrived at the table Rory heard the girl say something, but Rory was too concerned with Finn. And when Finn turned his head to look, Finn's mouth dropped open in surprise. Finn seemed to be shocked, "Rory?"

Rory gave Finn a sheepish smile. "Hey, Finn…um, surprise."

-Finn-

Finn drove the ten minute drive from Mercedes house to Pizza Hut in silence. Finn was still tempted to bail on this. _Stop it! Just go, and if the person turns out to be a major creeper you can just leave right away._

With that Finn pulled into the parking lot at seven. Finn looked at himself in the rear view mirror and sighed. "I got to be out of my mind for doing this."

Finn sat in his truck for five minutes, before he could build up the courage to go in. Finally Finn took a deep breath and opened the door to his and he went into the restaurant. Once he was in the store, Finn did a quick look around, but he didn't see anyone that gave him the creeps. Finn turned his attention to the girl who was looking up at him as if he had just farted. Finn then saw a familiar face come up to join the two of them. "It's okay Jess; I got a table for him. I was asked to show him over."

Finn smiled with a little bit of relief as he followed the second girl that had come up. "Hey, Natalie, how have you been?"

Natalie smiled. "I've been good, but I got a table over here for you. And how are you tonight?"

"That's cool." Finn replied. "I'm nervous as hell; I'm here on a blind date tonight."

Natalie smiled at Finn and she motioned him to follow her. Finn and followed Natalie through the sea of tables and chairs. Finn was too anxious just keep an eye on where they were headed, and he kept glancing around to see if anyone was following him. Natalie spoke when they got to the booth. "Here you go, Finn."

Finn turned to look at the booth and he felt his mouth drop. Finn was absolutely shocked and amazed that Rory was his blind date. Finn had thought for whole twenty minutes about asking Rory out, but he had decided that he wanted to try and work things out with Kurt first. Then Kurt told him that he didn't trust him; and then Finn hadn't considered asking Rory out again after that. Finn finally felt his mind engage with his mouth, "Rory?"

Rory was giving Finn a sheepish grin. "Hey, Finn…um, surprise."

Finn cleared his throat as he sat down. "Well it most certainly a pleasant one."

Rory gave Finn a soft smile. Finn then glanced over at Natalie. "I'll take a Pepsi, please."

Natalie nodded. "Alright, and I'll give you two a few minutes to decide on what you want."

Finn nodded and then turned his attention back to Rory. "So, now that I know who my mystery date is, I have to ask, why?"

Rory gave a nervous laugh. "In all honesty, Finn, I don't really know where to start."

Finn smiled softly. "So, I guess I should ask than are you gay or bi?"

Rory started scratching the back of his neck. "I guess bi. When I was back in Ireland, I was starting to look at guys, but I was just really nervous about it."

Finn nodded, just as Natalie slid Finn's Pepsi in front of him and she disappeared again. "So, I guess my next question is, how long have you been into me?"

Finn noticed the dark blush creep up Rory's neck and into his cheeks and ears. "A…a while, I guess I've had a crush on you since I saw you one You Tube, but I didn't really know that I had a really bad one until after that first day you talked to me when I was busy stuffing marshmallows into a cereal box."

Finn nodded. "Well, I've been thinking about asking you out, but I've been having some conflicted issues about it."

Rory frowned at that. "Did I do something wrong?"

Finn shook his head. "No, it's just on my end of things."

Natalie appeared again. "Are you guys ready to order, or do you need more time?"

Finn noticed that Rory looked panicked about not looking over the menu, so Finn just smiled. "Just give us a large Stuffed Crust Meat Lovers. And throw in some breadsticks, and I'd like a 14 piece Bone-Out Buffalo Mild wings, with some ranch."

Natalie nodded and she then glanced over to look at Rory, who Finn thought looked like he was floundering. "Um, uh, I'd also like a salad too please."

Natalie smiled at Rory. "Sure thing sweet-heart and look don't be nervous on my account. When Finn and Kurt were dating and they came in to eat, I was only one out of two others on the wait staff that would wait on them. So relax, and enjoy your date with Finn."

As Natalie walked away Rory stared after her in amazement. Finn just smiled. "I've known Natalie for two years. She's really awesome."

Rory snapped his mouth closed and he turned back to Finn. "May I ask as to why you have conflicted issues about asking me out?"

Finn sighed, for he didn't really want to get into this with Rory, but he figured it would eventually come up sometime. "To be honest with you Rory, I am still hung up on Kurt. Kurt and I have a lot of history together and it took me a while to admit that I liked him. Then after that he and I had been on a hell of a roller coaster ride with how people treated us. But the thing is, this last summer I was an absolute idiot and I ended up sending myself somewhere that I'm not proud of, and in doing that I hurt Kurt in the process. When Kurt came and rescued me from there when he found out the truth about what had happened, he was hurt by the fact that I didn't trust him enough to let him know what was going on."

Finn paused and he took a drink of his Pepsi. "Before I lost Kurt this summer, I was prepared to spend the rest of my life with him. But that's all in the past now, and I honestly need to take my own advice and let him go."

Rory nodded. "It sounds like you and Kurt were close."

Finn nodded. "We were, but I made my poor choices and Kurt has been honest with me lately, well for the most part, so I just need to learn to move on."

Rory nodded and asked sadly. "But you're not sure if that's me that you want to move on with?"

Finn got quiet as he considered Rory's question. Finn noticed Rory get up and shuffle over to the salad bar as if he had said something wrong. Finn thought some more about how he felt about things and by the time Rory was slinking back into his seat, Finn cleared his throat. "I wouldn't necessarily say that Rory. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to care about another guy like I did with Kurt. And I'm not afraid to admit that I would be interested in having a relationship with you, I just don't think that It would be fair to you, to date me when I obviously still have feelings for Kurt."

They both sat in silence after that and Rory quietly ate his salad and Natalie came by and dropped off Finn's wings and the breadsticks. Rory cleared his throat after Finn finished eating his wings. "I appreciate your honesty, Finn Hudson. I think that I'd still like the chance to be your boyfriend if you are willin' that is. I know that I am not Kurt, and I realize that you still have feelings for him, but would you deny yourself a chance to at least try and get over him in honest way?"

Finn considered that for a moment. "You make a valid argument."

Rory gave a small smile. "Do you know if Kurt has moved on?"

Finn frowned at that. "I really want to say yes to that, but I don't know. With the way Kurt is around Blaine it would surprise me in the slightest, but he just says that they are friends. But at the same time Kurt keeps getting jealous over me talking about you so again I don't know."

Rory nodded at that. Natalie reappeared with their pizza and she then quickly refilled their drinks as the boys dug into the pizza. Natalie kept giving both of them pleasant smiles and in Finn's opinion she kind of knew what was going on between them, and she was trying to give them both the courage to take the jump.

Finn looked at Rory before he spoke. "If you'll excuse me for a second; I need to use the bathroom."

Rory looked surprised and he then nodded and Finn stood and he walked around and went around the corner that had the front counter and the restrooms. Natalie came around the front folding a ticket into a little tray with some mints when she noticed Finn. "Did you need something, Finn?"

Finn gave her a small smile. "Do you know what's going on between Rory and I?"

Natalie shook her head. "No, I don't. But I will admit that I do have my suspicions though."

Finn gave her a lopsided smile. "What's your theory?"

Natalie gave Finn a smile. "Not that I am telling you, but I heard about you and Kurt when school started back up. But for what it's worth Finn, I'd say go for it."

With that Natalie went to deliver her ticket and Finn returned to the table where Rory was patiently waiting for him. Finn slid into the booth across from Rory and he pulled another slice of pizza to himself. Before Finn ate it he looked Rory in the eye. "Rory, you have made a valid argument, and I think that you have also given me a valid chance at taking my own advice. So I am going to take a chance and say yes."

Rory gave Finn a confused look. "Yes to what exactly?"

Finn smiled softly. "I'll give it a try and be your boyfriend."

Finn thought if Rory had been a cartoon, his eyes would have popped out of his head, and his mouth would have hit the table, and his tong would have rolled out of his mouth. But Rory wasn't but Finn could tell that he totally just floored Rory.

When Natalie came back by with the ticket, Rory took it, and Natalie leaned down she gave Rory a one armed hug and she whispered loudly for the two of them to hear. "Congratulations, to the two of you."

With that Finn and Rory went to the front and Rory paid for the meal and Finn took Rory back over to Brittany's, and then Finn went home and he was humming away.

**AN 2: Sorry about this late posting, **_**Bitten**_** seemed to have took over there for a few days. So there is going to be I think maybe three more chapters for this one, I am going to try and do an outline for notes for this one some more. As for **_**Bitten,**_** I am working on Chp 2 It Begins, and I have most of the back stories figured out and who's all going where in that story, so I hope you all enjoy. ~ Draco.**


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